University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science

Fall Article

Harvesting Pumpkins other October Gardening Tips

By Dr. Leonard Perry and
Dr. Vern Grubinger
University of Vermont Extension

By October, frost has hit just about everywhere in Vermont, which means
there's not much growing in the garden any more. So, it's time to harvest
those pumpkins and root crops and put the garden to bed.

For winter squash and pumpkins, use a sharp knife to clip the stem from
the vine, leaving about two inches of stem attached. Try to get all the
fruit in before it is exposed to cold. It's not just frost but the accumulated
exposure to night temperatures in the 40s that will reduce the storage
life of squash and pumpkin. When harvesting, handle carefully to avoid
bruising since even small wounds create an entry point for microbes that
cause decay. Before storing, brush off all soil and carefully inspect fruit
for signs of injury or disease.

Beets, parsnips, and carrots can be covered with a thick layer of straw
or hay and left in the ground for harvest, as needed, during the winter.
Or dig carefully, brush off loose soil, and store in dampened peat moss
or sawdust in a cardboard or wooden box in a cool, humid room.

It's time to collect materials for putting strawberries to bed next
month. If you wait too long, an early winter may take you by surprise!
To make it through the winter, berries usually need to be covered with
a thick layer of clean straw or hay. Leaves also can be used, but they
don't insulate as well as grasses that have stems (which are like hollow
tubes).

Mulch helps keep crowns from heaving out of the ground as it freezes
and thaws, and also protects them from extreme temperatures that cause
winter injury. The best time to apply mulch is after a few hard frosts,
when the ground has started to freeze and the leaves of the berries are
laying flat on the soil surface (usually around Thanksgiving).

To protect your asparagus beds over winter, they can also be mulched
in the same manner as strawberries. Although mulching will keep the soil
from warming up as quickly in the spring, it also will protect tender new
shoots from tip kill by late frosts.

Clean up the garden by removing all trellises, stakes, and plant debris.
Compost healthy plants or leave in the garden to be plowed into the soil.
Dispose of diseased plants away from the garden site to prevent overwintering
of diseases.

There may still be time to get a short winter cover crop or oats or
winter rye going. Even a few inches of growth is better than no cover at
all. If you must leave the soil bare, leave the surface rough rather than
smooth as this will help reduce erosion.

To avoid the rush in spring, you may want to obtain your compost or
aged manure now. Just be sure to cover it completely to prevent leaching
of nutrients.

And while you're at it, have your soil tested now, too. Kits are available
from all Extension offices or by calling the Agricultural and Environmental
Testing Lab at (802) 656-3030. The test will also tell you how much lime
to add this fall.

If you didn't grow your own pumpkins this year, then plan a visit to
a roadside stand or pick-your-own place to pick out a pumpkin or two. The
ideal jack-o-lantern pumpkin is fairly light in weight for its size and
is slightly flat on the bottom. Lighter pumpkins have less "meat" so are
easier to carve as a rule. For good keeping quality, choose a pumpkin with
a stem and, if you buy your pumpkin early but don't plan to carve it until
just before Halloween, try to store it at a temperature between 50 and
60 degrees for longest shelf life. When you're carving, don't forget to
save the seeds for roasting.

October is the month to plant garlic. Local garlic from farmers market
or roadside stands is usually a pretty good bet since it should be adapted
to this climate. Use only disease-free cloves, and place right-side-up
in a furrow about three to four inches deep. Deep planting eliminates the
need to mulch. Leave about six to eight inches between cloves. Add some
compost or a light dose of blended fertilizer to the furrow. Next spring,
garlic is likely to be the first crop up in the garden, often poking through
the last of the snow!

October is a good month to mulch perennial beds, using a loose organic
material such as bark chips or leaves to protect roots from the winter
cold. A wind screen erected on the windy sides, usually the north and west,
will help protect evergreens. Or use an antidesiccant spray, available
at most garden centers, which may help to prevent them from
drying out. It is also a good idea to keep evergreens well watered this
month.

Indoors, it's time to start forcing your poinsettia plant to bloom in
time for Christmas. It will need about 14 hours of complete, uninterrupted
darkness each night from early October to mid-November at nighttime temperatures
of 60 to 65 degrees F. A good way to do this is to place it in a closet
each night, removing it each morning.